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User blog:CuteLunaMoon/Chapter 18: Luna the Kin
Jonathan leads us through bushy ground over the river of blood. Soon we are hemmed in with trees, which in places arched over the grass-grown passage. I frown upon the cursed-stench from the decayed bodies that floated in the murky river. Here and there, some Beast Patients surreptitiously throw at us hateful glances and manacing growls from their hiding. But they don't attack us. We have fourteen people here. When we pass over a large bog, Jonathan motions us to extinguish our torches. Over the jagged horizon, stand grey masses of whether houses of trees I know not, for it is so foggy and far off that big things and little are mixed. Holmwood, an experienced hunter who have been in this nightmare twice, stands on a large rock and makes a quick scan with his monocular. " No sight of those wretched kins" Holmwood reports and puts his Monocular back into the jacket. " Don't let your guard down, lads. It's midnight. The time when all evil forces are at full sway. This is the time of unspeakable horrors and madness." Jonathan- the scout whispers and sorrowly looks over the vast expanse " We have lost too many men in this cursed graveyard" We walk for half an hour, sneak past several old hunters that are chasing after beasts in various state of dementia and sneak past even more beasts. Hunt and be hunted, the cruel, unspoken law of this realm --- the afterlife asylum hunters and their victims are destined to travel to after their physical death. We walk until we reach an ineffably facade of a crumbling building, Jonathan motions us to stop. " From now on, it's Hemwick Charnel Lane - the enemy territory. I can only lead you to here." He says and waves goodbye to us after a long prayer. " Thank you, old lad. Here's what is promised" I hand over the Frenzied Coldblood as we have promised to the blood-drunk hunter and watch he disappear into the brushes. " I don't trust that man" Renfield- the least impatient hunter amongst us says and spits the ground. " He just led us around and around." " Trust no one in this nightmare, my friend. But that hunter guided us safely here. We need to avoid unnecessary fights " I whisper and clap his shoulder. I look over the vast field of tombstones and the collapsed cremators. In the waking world, It's a small town on the outskirts of the Cathedral Ward that seems to have mostly avoided the scourge of beasts, but not completely. Nowadays, the small town is essentially a massive crematorium and cemetery where we dispose the bodies. Hemwick also produces all of the Bone Marrow Ash by burning victims delivered to the door. The Witch of Hemwick and her mad women servants always pay us handsomely for a good pair of eyes. But in this Hunter's Nightmare, it's a hostile territory controlled by the Green Willows which is said to have originated from the Holy blades. No one knows how they ended up here but some say that the church has wiped them out in the waking world years ago. They, no doubt, are believed to be drunk with beast blood and cursed to roam this malformed realm for eternity. Last month a group of our ritual blood harvester chased a Blood-starved Beast into the region and never return, and they brought along one of the Holy Chalices. Several groups were sent here to retrieve the sacred artefact but none of them came back. Only one survivor managed to make it back to the waking world and told us that the Green Willows were here and that they somehow tamed several Nightmare Executioners in the nightmare to do their bindings. Although her story was half-mad and full of fear: " Death! Death! Death!" She moaned over and over again" There was only death and madness in that cursed nightmare... Oh, my lords Amygdalae! Mercy for me!... Do not dally near their accursed castle!...Don't you wish you could hear them when they are coming... No! No! No! The tentacles! They grabbed me! They grabbed me!... The flowers! She creates the monster. Half-man, half-beast... Stitches people up! Argh! The flowered one pulls the strings! She and her accursed mother Kos or some say Kosm! " There were many wounds on her body, probably caused by Frenziness. Could it be they encounter something akin to the Brain of Mensis - the great living relics we once had at the time of great master Micolash? Or could they run into a horde of Winter Lanterns? In the past, Byrgenwerth sent its scholars to the tombs of the God carved below the city, few returned, and in a half-mad state. But they did discover greatness under the ruins. Madness, in a sense, is a blessing of the Gods. For where madness lies, greatness can't be far behind. And so, despite the ominous state of the previous expidition, the high-ranked scholars decided that we should still come back to the Hunter's Nightmare. The Tonsil Stones which is used to traverse into this nightmarish realm are scarce so that we -thirteen well-equipped Yahar'gul hunters, are the last group to be sent here. We are the iron lancers of the school, we mustn't fail. However, there are rumours that the eldritch horror named 'Luna the Kin' originated from this nightmare. Some say she's a hunter of hunters, much like the wretched crow woman who plagued our order for a while. But Luna hunts sane and blood-drunk hunters alike. Her motivation is unclear, but whoever opposed her died horribly. Some say she would save those who in grave danger only to twist them somehow in the end. Some even wildly claim that she was once a human and a member of the Green Willows. In our ranks, there are rumours that several kidnappers led by Dante once encountered her and a duo of Blood saints in an incident several years ago. But they kept their mouths shut ever since. I believe that 'Luna the Kin' is a banshee because she was killed before, her path is blood-ridden and speaking of her brings ill omen. " This place makes me sick," Renfield says. " The snarls of beasts, the scream of folks, the maggot-ridden corpses. Death and madness lurk around in every corner. I should not join this mad quest." " Shhh... Parle moins fort, monsieur..." Lucy- the only female hunter in the group claps his iron helm and makes a silence gesture. A group of well-fed, bloated Bloodlickers shamble near our hiding. They must have left the river to find a place to rest. After setting the mini Incense censers we hand around our necks alight, we furtively make out way into the graveyard of Hemwick. We spend the early part of or searching in surveying and circumnavigating the cemeteries. After half a day of searching the root-tangled, decrepit graveyard, we find nothing and decide to rest between the cremators, uniformly covered with dense underbrushes. We continue our search on a small mound, filled with makeshift graves and abandoned weather-worn barns and farmhouses. After another fruitless half day searching, I motion the group to take a short rest, to take Sedative and food. Without a constant consumption of Sedative, our frail minds would soon succumb to the madness of this malformed realm.Some of the impatient lower-rank start to disturb the graves for loot. I don't blame them, difficult time in the waking world, it is. " There's no trace of the Nightmare Executioners." One of my men says. " Perhaps we should call it a day and leave this horrific nightmare." " Nonsense! We need to get that chalice back!" I stand up and say " The ritual is near its completion. Our masters have waited for this day too long. We need to find a way to get rid of that great lake of mud. The blood moon will rise and the dream will become real. Let's pray to the great Micolash and his scholars." Yes, our masters have waited for too long. They beckoned the orphan Great One Mergo and transcend their consciousness into the dreamland many, many years ago. We were so close to our ascension. But something has stopped us. We need more eyes. We need to plunge into the tomb of the gods for more eldritch knowledge. Only with the holy chalices, we would be able to perform the rites to unlock the tombs. After an hour of resting, suddenly, we hear some questionably moving noise, I raise my hand up, signal mu underlings to stop digging graves. " Qu'est-ce que c'est? The Green Willows?" Lucy asks as she hears the moving sound. I cast my wary gaze around. Everything else on the mound was as we left it—brush cut with machetes, soil turned up by shovels and graves looted by us. There's not a single soul in the line of sight but dead, hollow trees and dry creed moving in the hazy breeze. Then, out of the blue, what comes next are deafening gunfires from all direction. I hide behind a gravestone and shout to others: " It's an ambush! Take cover." The Green Willows? No, I catch a glimpse of Jonathan- the blood drunk hunter that guided us here. So they are the dead hunters that are sucked into the dream. That snake Jonathan. I should have known better to tell my group to shut their mouth up about us being the last group to be sent here. We shoot back but soon be overwhelmed by their rate of fire. Some of the old hunters have Gatling Gun. That thing is no regulation firearm! After a minute or two ineffectively raining quicksilver bullets on us, they decide to close the gap and we engage in close quarter combat. I lunge at the betrayal Jonathan and drive my Rifle Spear at his chest. He, however, dodges the attack and strikes back with his Boom Hammer. I barely avoid the swing before it explodes violently on the gravestone next to me. Take a back step, I strike my Tiny Tonitrus to the ground and the thunder roars. The lightning goes through his body and turns the treacherous one into a charred corpse. Served that bastard right! That attack, however, cost me seven bullets. Another old hunter strikes my head with his untransformed Beast Cutter. The attack was swift and deadly but hopefully did not cause much damage rather than denting my helmet. I throw my helm aside and cut off his hand. The old hunter, however, doesn't flinch. He jumps at me like a filthy beast and bites off my nose. He pushes me down to the ground and tries to bite my neck but thankfully Renfield shoots him in the head. Amidst the feverish fight, we soon find ourselves surrounded. I fight and manage to make a narrow escape with Lucy, Renfield and two hunters whose name are Seward and Godalming. We run through the graveyard and only dare to rest when we have put some distance between us and the group of deranged hunters. But before we can catch our breath, the hunters have already caught up with us. " Aïe! Les morts voyagent vite! " Lucy exclaims when she sees the pursuers. " Keep your breathe and run" I shout. We run but without a guide we soon find ourselves lost amidst the massive graveyard of Hemwick Charnel Lane. Passing though a crumble stone wall, we find the River of Blood again and with little choice left, jump into it. The chasers do not follow us, they simply stand on the dry land and watch as we walk in the knee-deep stinky blood. " Why don't they follow us?" Renfield exclaims. And I must have admitted I fear the answer. Just a few moments later, we spot two Blood-starved Beast. Brought into the nightmare long ago, they are still brooding and festering and waiting down here. Many Yahar'gul Hunters before us, using the Tonsil Stones and blessed by our lords Amygdalae, came to this nightmare to hunt the beast for their blood. Several Beast Patient has caught our scent and stalks us like we are fresh meat. I sit down and smear blood all over my face. " What the heck... Are you sick, mate?" Renfield looks at me and shows his disgust. Godalming and Lucy quickly understand and grab Renfield by the neck and push him down to the blood. " Seriously, bastards? Have you gone nutty? I... " Renfields cries out before being drowned again. " Shhh!... You dummy. This to mask our scent" I tell him when he gets up. Hopefully, the quick thinking saves us. The beasts come down here to satiate their thirst for blood and perhaps chasing us would be too much work for them. " Il y a des pourri intestins dans vos cheveux" Lucy says and swats the disgusting organs from my hair. I nod at her and try to make a faint smile. The stench from this gooey blood is unbearable. After an hour of being immersed in the rancid blood probably leaked from corpses, we find a dugout and decide to take a brief rest. When we enter, the dugout turns out to be an entrance of a small cave filled with strange and large flowers. The flowers glow in the dark and their scent somehow calms my nerves. Suddenly, we hear a female voice somewhere. " Er...Umm... Luna? Are you sure this would work? And why don't we operate this at home?" We hide between the oddly tall vegetation and see at the end of the cave there is a candle-lit room with selves of medical instruments, dubious liquids. On the inside, there's a woman in the Yharnam Hunter Set lying on a table and next to her stands a humanoid figure. The creature figure, whose geometry seems all wrong has a malice looking appearance. Flowers bloom on its head and tendrils grow where its hand should be. It is holding a pair of bone saws and a strangely glowing bottle. " I assure you, my dear Lizzie, that you will soon be as beautiful as me. And this cave is the only place rather than the Lumenwood Garden that has Lumen flowers, to calm your mind during your ascension. " The creature says, which sounds like broken glass. " I don't know if I would see you as beautiful after this operation. But come closer. You are so strong and I need some of your strength" The female hunter squirms and makes a provocative pose. " That's hella kinky. Now, shut your eyes. "The creature laughs, stoops and hugs with the woman. Then it applies for some medicine on her forehead and brands her head with a red-hot branding tool. The pain must be much as tears swell up in the hunter's eyes. " When will I turn?" The female hunter asks " Oh very soon, my dear. You will soon fall asleep and have an audience with mother Kos. I have prayed for you. You will be granted eyes and you will be elevated like me. Albeit a little weaker. " The creatures says. I motion my group to lay close in silently and prepare to capture the evil-looking Kin. Now I know what we are facing. Luna the Kin- supposed leader of the new Green Willows. " How come you become so strong recently, Luna?" The woman asks and applies some bandage to her brand. " Do you know a process call grafting? Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. I read that in the new world, a farmer and also an artist, whose name was Van Aken, grew peaches, and he would graft several similar strains of fruit on a certain strong tree. And then he had peaches, apricots, plums, cherries and nectarines from one single tree. Isn't that wonderful? And the peaches ..." " So what's peaches and plums have to do with your power? You ate lots of them when you were in the waking world, right?" " Don't f***ng interrupt me, Lizzie! I hate it when I am explaining certain facts and people cut short me! " The Kin seems to be pissed off. They are so focused on their conversation they don't know we have come very close and are about to strike. " I'm sorry, I'm sorry Luna. Please continue" The hunter with the name Lizzie shakes Luna's hands and says, and the Kin continues her long and boring lecture. " My apology, dear, I'm quite short-fused, you know. My first grafting was done by Sophia. She grafted on me the Blacksky Eye - a sacred living artifract that is famous amongst the Choir and the scholars of Mensis. But that wasn't enough for me. Kins of the cosmos are quite similar in nature, you know. We are all evolved from men. So I grafted certain tissues of the Celestial Emissary, like their tentacles hair, eyes from the Winter Lantern and some tentacles from the Nightmare Executioners as well. Several madmen weild Amygdalan Arm to fight me. Strictly speaking, they aren't trick weapons. But the arms are alive despite being cut from teh body! So, I grafted this eye of a young Great One Amygdala on me. Hahahaha... What is not suitable will rot away and is replaced by new other parts until those grafted parts accept the new body. And of course, to augment my power, I harvest Great One's Wisdom for insight and drank Great One Coldblood and Arcane Haze. And one of the most important parts is to kill all the stinky bastards that are stupid enough to hear our secrets. " We have been spotted! The kin turns toward us and for the first time I see it face. It is the most terrible thing I have seen in my life. Its face is covered in rows of stitches holding together the edges of surgical incisions. There are many eyes on its face, some are blood red, some are rotten terribly. The moment it stares at us, some of its eyes emit a faint orange light to which I feel my blood runs wild, frenzy rapidly build up within me and the surrounding turns nightmarish. My blood forms hard spears and piercing my skins from within and along with them, an unbearable agony. Blood streams from my eyes and noses and ears and I even bite my tongue because of the pain. I feel that my whole body is riddled with holes! Before the hysterical madness takes over me, with a great effort, I dug out a Sedative and drink it up. The thick human blood calms my nerves and quickly take cover behind a rock. I look aside only to find that Renfield and Godalming have been killed by the deadly frenzy-inducing gaze. "Terrifiant monstre! Laissez-moi passer!" Lucy is captured by that Lizzie woman. She tries to fight back but her opponent pushes her to the ground and tie her up effortlessly. I suddenly feel an urgent danger and quickly run from my hiding. Just a second after I leave the spot, the rock is cut in half by a piercing light fired from the biggest eye of the abomination known as Luna the Kin. I startle and realize that light is similar to the holy light our lords Amygdalae shoot from their eyes. She shoots that light again and I manage to dodge it by jumping into a flower bed. I realize she did not want to kill the flowers. " Heh, heh heh. Very quick, ritual blood harvester. But alas, not too fast." Luna says with her hideous voice, closes some of her deadly eyes and unsheaths her Reiterpallasch. " Dear, shall we dance tonight?" " My pleasure. M'lady" I reply, trying to suppress my fear. After taking blood, hold my Rifle Spear defensively but cannot hide my trembling. What chance could I have to flee from this eldritch horror? My body is aching with pain and agony. I lunge at the Kin and attack rapidly, hoping the length of the spear would keep it at bays. The kin, however, deflects my attacks easily and even slashes me multiple times on my legs and hands. " Remember, Lissie. No matter how strong the attack is, it's useless if it can not connect. Deflecting and dodging is more effective than to fend off." The kin says to its companion. It simply thinks me as a practice dummy, rather than an opponent. But its teaching is right. " And against polearm weapons, just close the gap. Polearm is good at picking on an opponent at a distance, but is a poor choice in close proximity combat." She is correct and I try to put some distance between me and the kin. Then, I transform my weapon, quickly cram some Bone Marrow Ash into the barrel and shoot at her frightening face. Just as she dodges the pellets, I take out the Tiny Tonitrus and strike the ground. Kins' weakness is Bolt Damage. The thunder roars and the lightning strike her with blinding speed. The attack, to my horror, was ineffective. her attire is burned up in the lightning but there she stands, revealing even a more horrible and disturbing scenery, previously hidden under the cloth. Only poetry or madness could describe the body of that bizarre abomination. Her body is twisted beyond imagination, an amalgamation of malformed body parts, tendrils and sutures. Some parts have swelled up and abnormally reveal dark stretches of the cosmos. I'm freezed for a moment and the only thing my brain can think of is to run. It cannot withstand the knowledge of the exsistence of such horrible monster. I trip and fall and try to crawl my way out of the monster. " Ahhh! You bizarre monster! Away! Stay away from me!" I shout and try to get back on my feet and run as fast as I can to the entrance. I run and splash about in the knee-deep river of blood filled with rotting organs that is emitting a fetid smell..This is far worse than the worst nightmare. " Mark my work, my dear Lissie. In a sword fight. the one who wins is the one who brought along a gun. And human tends to fear what they don't understand. And the last lesson:the biggest fear is fear the unknown... " The kin's hideous voice echoes from the cave. I dare not to look back and try to climb out of the horrible river. The next thing I know is that I see my headless body collapses, and I'm submerged in the deep blood of the red river. I can not make a sound and everything is turning dark. But I guess It's better this way. I will be free from this horrible nightmare... My eyes have shut... Perhaps I would just wake up on my bed and find it was just a frightful nightmare... Oh yes, it must be a nightmare... Like I used to have when I was a kid... Oh, Mom... It's dark and cold... It's very cold...Mom, please wake me up when morning comes... Category:Blog posts